This invention relates generally to improvements in digital versatile disc systems and, more particularly, to a ensuring parental blocks across an enterprise, such as a video subscription service or the Internet.
Digital versatile discs (DVDs) are information storage devices used for storing prerecorded audio information, movies and computer software. The storage mechanism used in DVDs closely resembles that used in compact discs (CDs). DVD players also use the same laser technology as CD players. Briefly, both DVDs and CDs store information as a pattern of pits formed in a metallic substrate. The pit patterns form digital words that can be read by shining a laser beam on the disc surface and detecting the reflected beam. The information storage capacity of a typical DVD, however, is much higher than a CD. Presently available DVDs have a variety of capacities that depend on the technology used to manufacture the discs. Single-layer technologies can be either single or double-sided with capacities of 4.7 gigabytes and 9.4 gigabytes, respectively. Dual layer technologies that use single or double-sided capacities that hold approximately 8.5 gigabytes per side are available. This high information storage capacity makes DVDs suitable for storing not only audio information, but also video information and large amounts of computer data as well.
DVD players have many CD player features, such as the ability to play selections in any order desired and the ability to read information from any point on the disc. However, DVDs can store information in several formats. For example, DVDs which are used to store video information, hereinafter called DVD-VIDEO discs, may use various known information compression algorithms, such as MPEG-2 for video compression/decompression. A DVD may also include high fidelity sound as well. In addition, a DVD may also store uncompressed linear pulse code modulated data streams that have sample rates between 48-96 kHz and are sampled at 16 or 24 bits. Still other DVD versions, hereinafter called DVD-ROM. discs, can store digital data for computer use. The data may also be compressed on these discs.
Although DVD-ROM and DVD-VIDEO discs share compression algorithms, the data format on DVD-VIDEO discs is significantly different than the data format found on DVD-ROM discs. One important difference is that the data content on DVD-ROM is platform-specific, while DVD-VIDEO discs operate with a platform independent navigation engine for playing interactive movies. This navigation engine requires that the files on the DVD-VIDEO disc be referenced in a predetermined directory structure.
The specific navigational commands, which are recognized by a DVD player, are controlled by a device independent language and a set of DVD player parameters that define the current state of the DVD player. The DVD command set, including the aforementioned commands and their definitions, are published in the DVD specification. A copy of the DVD 1.0 Specification for Read-Only Disc Vol. 3, including a more detailed description of all DVD commands, may be obtained, for example, from Toshiba Corp., 1-1 Shibaura 1-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-01 Japan. In particular, each DVD-VIDEO disc contains a main directory denoted as a VIDEO_TS directory which contains two types of files distinguished with the file extensions .IFO and .VOB. During playback, these files are sorted by a DVD video player to form video xe2x80x9ctitlexe2x80x9d sets, which are groupings of all files necessary to play a particular DVD video xe2x80x9ctitlexe2x80x9d, for example, a movie. Each video title set is composed of one .IFO file and one or more .VOB files.
A file with the .VOB extension contains the actual multimedia data and is called a video object set. The location and format of the multimedia data stored in the video object set is defined by the associated .IFO file. In particular, .IFO files contain navigational data structures and a processor-independent interpreted language which specifies how the data structures are arranged.
The data structures themselves are composed of various, objects called xe2x80x9cprogram chain objectsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cprogram objectsxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9ccell objectsxe2x80x9d. Program chain objects link related program objects (or particular scenes) within a title and their data structures govern the playback of the program objects. For example, a simple title may contain only one program chain. However, complex titles may contain two or more program chains to allow random access to a variety of programs. The multiple program chain title can play programs linearly, randomly or in a xe2x80x9cshufflexe2x80x9d mode. Program chains allow a particular program sequence to be changed during playback. Thus, it is possible to change the program contact based on stored information. This type of operation is used in implementing xe2x80x9cparental controlxe2x80x9d levels in DVD content. Parental control levels allow parents to control information content that they might find inappropriate (such as extremely violent or sexual material) for viewing by their children. Using parental control, the inappropriate or objectionable material can be removed from a playback and other material substituted without requiring several separate and complete programs.
Current DVD playback systems do allow a parent or supervisor to control the material accessed on a DVD content source. These DVD playback systems are typically located at the place of use and give direct control to the users, such as the parents or other supervisors. DVD content is being provided over other media sources, such as, for example, satellite media broadcasting, cable subscription broadcasting, and Internet access, among others. The transmission of media using DVD content leads to access problems when the content is allowable in one locale, but is prohibited in another. The access problems involve the situation of different community standards. For example, what might be allowed in New York City will not always play in Peoria and may actually be illegal. Further, community standards vary from country to country.
Unfortunately, there is no current system that can broadcast DVD content to different communities with different permissible ratings without having to select the most restrictive rating among the different communities. In other words, current technologies only allow the broadcasting of DVD source content at one parental control setting, regardless of the destination.
Accordingly, there is a need for a control mechanism that allows a DVD broadcast source to define downstream controls over the content viewed by machines receiving the content.
According to the present invention, a parental management controller for use in a DVD environment is disclosed that defines, in a distributive computer environment (DCE), department, country, or corporate controls over DVD content viewed by machines within the environment. The controller provides automated parental management installation on remote machines. It provides parental management enforcement on remote machines. It adjusts the default parental management enforcement level to local cultures and moral values. The controller also provides a logging of any parental management violations on local machines.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a digital versatile playback apparatus is provided that retrieves DVD content across the network, such as a DCE. The DVD playback apparatus comprises a DVD data stream receiver to receive the DVD content from the network. The playback apparatus further comprises a DVD content decoder to decode the DVD content for playback and the parental management controller, which permits DVD content decoding from any source location along the network path to the DVD playback apparatus. The parental management controller reviews each and every parental management control level applied to the content along the network path and as defined by the user of the DVD playback apparatus before allowing the DVD content decoder to decode the DVD content. If the DVD content fails to conform to the restrictive levels required by the user or network, then the DVD content will not be decoded for playback. The parental management controller may be placed in each DVD programming node within the DCE. As such, the parental management controller is able to provide installation of the parental management control level defined for the distributed computer environment to each DVD node in the DCE.
The parental management controller is capable of adjusting the default parental management control level to local cultures and moral values based on a location selection made by the user at the time of installation or at any other time desired by the user. Additionally, the controller can log any parental management violations on a local machine receiving the DVD content, where that local machine is within the DCE domain.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for enforcing the parental management of content across the network is disclosed. The method is directed towards enforcing parental management of content across a network that transmits DVD content from one location to another location. The method includes the steps of determining the parental management control level at each location utilized along the transmission path of the DVD content, and selecting the parental management control level acceptable to each location along the DVD content path. Once the appropriate parental management control level has been established, then the system can begin playing the DVD content at the viewing location should it correspond to the selected parental management control level at that location.
To determine the parental management control level at each location, the method first determines the parental management control level allowed at the transmission location, then it determines the control level allowed at the viewing location, and lastly it transmits the viewing locations parental management control level to the transmission location. The parental management control levels can be established by local governments or by management in a corporate setting.